Why should the devil have all the good music?
If those words immediately trigger a memory for you of a live performance of Larry Norman pounding on a piano a la Jerry Lee Lewis, you might be an aging Jesus Freak. While religious and social historians who study such things are divided on whether the Jesus Movement of the late 1960′s–early `70′s was indeed American’s fourth great awakening, those of us who came to faith during this hurricane of the Spirit recognize that it was, at the least, a time of intense spiritual activity that upended everything it touched.
Dr. Larry Eskridge, himself a product of the Jesus Movement, has penned an engaging and accessible history of this period entitledGod’s Forever Family: The Jesus People Movement In America (Oxford University Press, 2013). This work was Christianity Today’s book of the year*, and traces the movement to its beginnings in the fertile ground of Hippie Central in San Francisco. [Read more]
